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Team Rider Micah Lester

Team Rider Micah Lester

Team Rider Micah Lester

Home town:Burleigh Heads, been living in Constantine bay, Cornwall for over 10 years

Local spot:Constantine Bay

Height / weight:1,78 m / 80 kg

Started riding:11 years old

Stance:Regular

Favorite spot:Burleigh Heads

Favorite trick:Barrel

Favorite event:Thurso, Scotland

Heroes:Andy Irons

As a teenager, I was working in a kitchen by the beach, surfing every day in my lunch breaks trying to save enough money to live my dream competing around the world.

After a year I realized you can’t work a normal job and do the tour at the same time. If I didn't do something soon I would never get to my dreams. So I saved up just enough money for the plane tickets and left. Let fate decide my future.

Since then I haven't stopped traveling, I found myself loving the adventure more than competition. The lifestyle of adventure is where fate has taken me.

To the extent I now feel more normal traveling, chasing waves than I do being at home. I haven’t actually had my own place to call home in over 8 years.

Interview

When and how did you start surfing? I was 11yrs old, my brother and father surfed. I didn't want to surf, I loved skateboarding but I smashed my front teeth out with my skateboard. After that my Mum banned me from skating so I gave in and started surfing instead.

When did you decide to become a pro? After 6 months of surfing I wanted to be a pro. I was 20yrs old when I turned.

How did you become a part of O’Neill? I really like O’Neill’s heritage and the wetsuits are by far the best so I intentionally bumped into the sales rep in the local surf shop and he introduced me to the team manager. It’s been an awesome relationship since.

What makes you unreasonable? I’ll go anywhere if there are waves. Freezing cold with ice and snow. Scorching hot sand and desert. If it takes a week on a boat, a hike through snow and mountains, it doesn't matter, I’m keen.

What has been a highlight in your career? The traveling. It’s taught me everything I know and introduced me to so many amazing people. I’ve had some great contest results, amazing waves, I got a 10 point ride for a barrel in the O’Neill Thurso CWC. I’ll never forget those but the traveling has shaped who I am.

What motivates you to get out of bed in the morning? The thought that I don't know what’s going to happen today and if I stay in bed I’ll miss out.

If we visited you at breakfast, what would you be eating? Bananas and coffee pre surf. Omelette and juice when I come in.

If you weren’t surfing, what would you do? I’d learn to surf.

Any other sports you’re good at? I used to be good at other sports but I surf so much that now I’m pretty crap at everything else.

What music are you listening to? Everyone else's iPods. I’m so bad at keeping music, my phone and laptop are completely full of photos and videos. I’ll just listen to what the person with me has.

What was your most embarrassing moment in your career/life? I was in a contest and in the middle of my heat my shorts got ripped apart by a wave. I had to walk up the beach pretty much nude in front of everyone. It was a funny moment.

What has been the scariest moment in your sport career? I’ve had a few and they all feel the same. When I tore and bruised all the ligaments in my back, chipping my spine after hitting the reef. Snapping the ligaments in my knee and the time I was out of the water for 10 months after tearing all the ligaments in my ankle. It’s that fear of not being able to surf again.

How does your training routine look like? It looks like a lot of surfing. Free diving when I can. If there are waves I save my energy for surfing. If there are no waves I’ll do some core and surf specific training.

I love contrast. In cold climates my perfect day is exploring remote areas, looking for new waves, getting barreled off my head with just one or two friends. Then having a good pub meal and a couple of ales. In warm climates its waking up on a boat in the Maldives, next to my girl. Surfing early morning with just my brother and friends. Having breakfast then scuba dive with sharks, at lunch go free diving around the little islands and sand bars in the middle of the ocean. Surf all afternoon. Beers on sunset, swim with mantas in the night. It sounds ridiculous but I have perfect days like this, I’m extremely fortunate to live the life I do. A life of travel, full of amazing adventures and memories. The only thing that’s been missing on these travels is my brother. He’s going to have to quit his job and come on the next ones.